Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Albany Billiard Ball Company Records

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0011
Creators:
Albany Billiard Ball Company (Albany, New York)
Dates:
1870 - 1974
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
8 Cubic feet
25 boxes
Repository:
These records include documents relating to John Hyatt and include legal documents, 1871-1966; bank books; patents; patent certificates; patent assignments; memoranda and articles of association; union contracts; balance sheets; profit and loss accounts; journals and cash books; ledgers; time books; invoices; photographs; and correspondence to and from the company.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The records include documents relating to John Hyatt and consist of articles of agreement; articles of association; contracts; bills of sale; by laws; deeds; licenses to manufacture; memoranda; bank books; patents; patent certificates; patent assignments; union contracts; balance sheets; profit and loss accounts; journals and cash books; ledgers; time books; invoices; minutes; photographs; and correspondence to and from the company, 1870-1974.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
The Albany Billiard Ball Company is possibly the earliest successful plastics firm and certainly one of the oldest plastics companies in the world. The business was started in 1868 on Albany's South End. The company was renamed in September, 1977 the Albany-Hyatt Billiard Ball Company. John Wesley Hyatt was one of the company's founders and the American inventor of celluloid. Celluloid, besides being the base of photographic film, was a substitute for ivory, long the prime substance in billiard ball manufacture. The Hyatt "composition" ball, with a celluloid base, dominated the sport until the 1960s.

Administration

Author
William R. Massa, Jr. and Robert S. Harding
Custodial History
Transferred from the Division of Physical Sciences (now the Division of Medicine and Science) on April 5, 1983.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Processing Information
Collection processsed by William R. Massa, Jr. and Robert Harding, November 1979.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Albany Billiard Ball Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Related Materials
New York State Library
Albany Billiard Ball Company Records, 1894-1944, bulk 1914-1944
The records of the Albany Billiard Ball Company consist chiefly of account books detailing its finances. The cash journals detail the quantity and cost of goods sold to various firms and individuals. Costs and fees for shipping and handling are also noted. The journals of income and disbursements provide a more detailed record of administrative and production costs of the company as well as income derived from sales. Principle expenditures include labor, raw materials, maintenance of equipment and facilities, and taxes.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Plastics industry and trade Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Plastics -- Molding Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Celluloid Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cashbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Invoices Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Contracts -- union Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ledgers (account books) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Journals (accounts) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Molding -- Plastics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Legal documents Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Billiards Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Albany (N.Y.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Time books Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Patents Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Koener, Max Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hyatt, John Wesley (inventor) Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
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